Kim Plunk, who was already on probation after a series of convictions for writing bad checks, tearfully told a state Superior Court judge she had made several attempts to apologize to James and Karen Gleason after stealing more than $2,200 from them in December.

"I understand what I did was wrong and I take full responsibility for it," she said shortly before she was given a 120-day suspended jail sentence and two years' probation.

According to court documents, Plunk answered a Craigslist advertisement posted by the Gleasons, of South Bend, on Dec. 28, promising that she had five tickets to the Bowl Championship Series national championship game. After a series of conversations with Plunk, the couple sent her a check for $2,250, or $450 per ticket, for the Jan. 7 game in Miami between Notre Dame and Alabama.

When the Gleasons hadn't received their tickets by January, they reported the theft to police. Plunk later admitted to investigators she never had the tickets and pleaded guilty to a charge of third-degree theft.

During her morning appearance in Superior Court in Belvidere, defense attorney John McGuigan asked that his client be spared from jail, citing mental health issues that have "contributed to judgments made" as well as ongoing health issues.

"My client is very remorseful for what she did," he added.

Assistant Prosecutor Steven Siegal noted that while Plunk's criminal history was "not extensive, it was consistent."

She is currently in the midst of a three-year probation sentence, stemming from a 2011 guilty plea in Somerset County to a charge of knowingly issuing bad checks, according to records. She also pleaded guilty that same year to a similar charge in Warren County and was given a two-year probation sentence, according to court documents.

Those pleas came one year after Plunk admitted in Hunterdon County to writing a bad check and was sentenced to three years' probation.

Despite having a history of similar offenses, Segal said, prosecutors recognized Plunk has health concerns that would make incarceration difficult.

"The reason we agreed to suspend the sentence is primarily because of health factors," Siegal said.

As a condition of her sentence, Plunk, of the 800 block of Mill Street, will also have to pay $2,250 in restitution to the Gleasons.